


Don’t Know Why (Our Eyes Meet)

by tejiisan234



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Developing Relationship, F/M, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Avengers (2012)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26922205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tejiisan234/pseuds/tejiisan234
Summary: The first time you meet Captain America, you had just moved into the Avenger’s Tower as Bruce Banner’s assistant, and he had just gotten back from his tour of the twenty-first century US.The second time, he’s healing from his dance with the Winter Soldier, and you were still reeling from being a target of Hydra.The third time...well, they say “third time’s the charm,” right?
Relationships: Chris Evans (Actor)/Reader, Steve Rogers/Reader
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Don’t Know Why (Our Eyes Meet)

Your nerves were shot.

Honestly, you didn’t think you could’ve been more nervous than you were in the flight over to New York. But then you saw a Stark Industries’ chauffeur waiting at the New Arrivals holding up a card board with your name, and somehow, you only got more nervous from there.

You were absolutely gaping as you walked through the truly magnificent lobby of the Avenger’s Tower, rolling a bag of the last of clothing you had left with you from your old apartment. Everything else had been packed and sent ahead of you to be placed in your new home at the tower.

Was this place really going to be your new home?

The offer came out of the blue.

You were working with a college that specializes in studying radiation, writing up reports, making coffee runs, and pulling all-nighters as you wrote a thesis on your own personal experience with working around radiation. It was a total whim that you published it, sleep-deprived and hopped up on caffeine, not at all thinking it’ll gain any traction. It didn’t. But then you get an email from Stark Industries, offering you a job to work with one of the leading experts on radiation, Bruce Banner himself.

You dismissed it as a scam.

Then, a week later, you get a phone call from a New York number, which goes unanswered as you knew no one up in the Big Apple.

Then, a call comes for you a few days later at the college and you found yourself on the receiving end of a rambling reprimand from Iron Man, Tony Stark, about not replying to important emails or answering equally important calls, before you’re offered, once more, an opportunity to work with Bruce Banner.

“He really liked your paper,” Mr. Stark, call-me-Tony, had said, “and I see your potential. He wouldn’t bother to ask for an intern, but I would, so this is me, asking if you want to work for him on his behalf- No, Bruce, you’re getting this. So, what do you say, Miss Potential? Wanna move your whole life to New York, live in luxury at the Avenger’s Tower, and work with the greatest minds in the world?”

What else was there to say but, “Hell, yes?” Not the most professional answer, but it made Tony laugh before he passes you off to Doctor Banner, just-Bruce-is-fine, who gives you a rundown of the job, before _he_ passes you off to HR to work out everything else.

The next couple of weeks after that was a flurry of activity, and all-too-soon you were having your last Thanksgiving dinner with your friends and roommates, sharing tearful good-byes and making promises to keep in contact.

And here you are, riding a private elevator up to the Avenger’s floors where Bruce will meet you.

The doors slide away to reveal an open floor plan common room. The giant TV and comfy-looking couches, an air-hockey table, and massive kitchen-dinning area were the only things among many more that your were able to take in as your gaze caught on the intense blue of a ridiculously buff, and ridiculously handsome blond standing in the kitchen holding a drink half-way up to his mouth.

You blink, and he repeats the action.

“Uh, hello?” he says with an unsure waver in his voice.

“You’re not Bruce Banner,” you say, as if that wasn’t obvious land you immediately wanted the ground to open up and swallow you whole. His lips twitch up as you try to salvage the situation, “I-I mean–”

“Miss (Y/N), may I introduce you to Captain Steve Rogers? Captain, this is Doctor Banner’s new intern-slash-assistant-slash-mentee. The title has been blurred during negotiations,” JARVIS interrupted like the savior that he is.

In the weeks that you’d been in contact with SI for your contract and all the legal things, JARVIS had been the one to reply to many of your inquiries. It was an absolute delight to meet the AI in the elevator when he welcomed you in and did his best to calm your racing heart. Poor thing even suggested a stop on the medical floor.

Captain Steve Rogers (why does that sound familiar?) nods, face clearing of confusion. “Ah. Thank you, JARVIS. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You, too,” you nod back, thankful that your voice did not crack. You’ve always been intimidated by good looking people, and Captain Rogers is definitely good looking. Wait. “Wait. Captain Rogers. Captain America?!”

His expression dimmed even as his mouth stretches into a smile. “One and only, I’m afraid.”

Even though it was only a few months ago, you don’t really know much about the Avengers aside from Tony Stark (being the biggest name in the group) and Bruce Banner since, well, who didn’t know about the doctor who could turn into a giant green rage monster? You knew Captain America was among the Avengers, as well as the God of Thunder Thor (and boy, wasn’t that a trip to watch the news that day?), but aside from that, you weren’t so familiar with their faces.

“I’m so sorry I didn’t realize who you are,” you say, only a bit chagrined because this is the Avenger’s Tower, after all. Of course, there’d be superheroes here.

Captain America waves you off. “It’s alright. It was nice, actually, not getting recognized right off the bat.”

“Oh,” you say, like an idiot, “oh, I- I can’t say I relate.”

“I understand not many people do,” he replies, the smile on his face turning into something sad, and you think that maybe he isn’t just talking about people noticing him on the streets. “Though, I have been informed, that celebrities suffer the same fate.”

“Have any morbidly obsessed teenage fans accosted you yet?” you ask before you could stop yourself. Heat immediately engulfs your face in embarrassment as you backtracked, “Please forget I asked that. That was so inappropriate, oh my God.”

This is your life now, making a fool out of yourself in front of Captain America, the living legend, and Uncle Sam’s golden boy. What a way to make a first impression.

“Uhhh...”

Oh, look, Captain America is all awkward now. You made him all awkward, just great.

“Well, no, but, uh, I’ll- I’ll let you know if I- ah, if I do.”

You nod, praying desperately to Thor that someone or something would come soon and get you out of this horrid situation.

As if your prayers were heard, the elevator dinged behind you and out comes Doctor Banner, apologizing as he did so, “(Y/N)! I am so sorry, I had a project going on that needed my immediate attention and I didn’t anticipate it would take so much of my time! Oh, hey, Steve! When did you get back?”

And just like that, the awkward atmosphere disappears.

“Hey, Bruce.” Captain America comes over to shake the man’s hand and now there’s three of you standing in front of the elevator. “Just an hour ago, actually. JARVIS let me in and told me Tony’s out of town.”

Bruce nods. “Yeah. Spending the rest of this week with Pepper at her parent’s for Thanksgiving weekend. Your room’s all set though, if I’m not mistaken.”

“You are not, Doctor Banner,” JARVIS chimes from above. 

Bruce spreads his hands in a ‘there you go’ gesture. “You staying for good?”

“Oh, no.” Captain America shakes his head. “Only for a few days. SHIELD says they have some work for me as soon as I’m done with my trip.”

“I see,” the doctor nods his head, brows pinching in a frown, but his eyes snag on you and his demeanor switched back. “Oh, Steve, this is (Y/N), by the way.”

Captain America nods. “Yes, we, uh, JARVIS introduced us.”

And just like that, the awkward atmosphere is back, and either Bruce can’t sense it or completely ignores it as he says, “Great! You guys hungry?”

“Oh, uh–” You fumbled a look at Captain America to find him just as lost as you were for words. Truth be told, you are hungry. It’s been hours since you had breakfast and way past lunchtime. The small packet of peanuts and glass of water on the plane merely served as a weak wall against the tides of hunger. You’ve resorted to chewing gum halfway through the flight. It’s now or never. “Yeah. But, um, I don’t want to impose on you, Bruce.”

He waves off your concern. “I made some soup yesterday and was just thinking of heating it and toasting some garlic bread. You in, Steve?”

Captain America still looked lost, but he manages a firm nod and a small smile of thanks. “If you don’t mind, Doctor.”

Bruce smiles, and after telling you to just leave your bag by the elevator, lead the way into the kitchen. “Help yourself to the fridge for anything you want, (Y/N),” he says, already pulling out a container of a stew-looking soup, along with a loaf of French bread. “If it’s not labeled, it’s free game.”

“Oh, thanks.” You nod and try your hardest not to feel even more awkward about going through the Avengers’ food. As expected, it’s stocked full with a variety of containers, drinks, all sorts of bread, condiments and snacks. There’s clump of tumblers with green looking juice inside of it next to the bottles of water you were reaching for, labeled T.S. in black marker. 

Turning back to the men in the room, you take a sip of water and watch as Bruce poured some soup into three separate bowls as he asked Captain America about his trip. The Captain answers with ease as he finishes off the water in his glass you had interrupted him from drinking earlier.

It’s all suddenly very surreal.

Are you really standing in the kitchen of the Avengers’ Tower, watching Captain America and Doctor Bruce Banner talk amicably while they get ready to enjoy a meal together...with you. How is this not a fever dream? You need somebody to pinch you right now.

The microwave beeps, and you jump. Two sets of eyes snap towards you and you smile sheepishly. “Sorry. I think I’m a bit jet lagged.”

It wasn’t a pinch, but it worked.

“Would you like to eat down in your apartment so you can get to rest right after?” Bruce asked, concern in the furrow of his brows.

You could kiss the doctor, but you settle on a grateful smile. “Honestly, that sounds like a great suggestion.”

Bruce smiles back before taking out the first bowl of heated soup then paused. He turns to Captain America. “You mind helping (Y/N) carry this down?”

“Oh, no, not at all,” Captain America says before you could protest. Then you think better about it.

“Thank you,” you say to him, and he smiles in reply. Somehow, it feels like the first genuine smile you’ve seen on him since the moment you saw him. “And thank you for the food, Bruce.”

Bruce waves you off. “Hey, gotta give you somewhat a nice welcome, right? Get some rest, and I’ll see you down at the labs tomorrow.”

You beam brightly at him, excited at the prospect of finally working side-by-side with _the_ Bruce Banner, so much so that you momentarily forgot about the awkwardness you share with Captain America until you were both in the elevator heading down to the employee residential floors of the tower.

_Hello, awkward silence, you sexy bitch. You have not been missed._

You clear your throat and Captain America shuffles a bit in his spot about a foot away from you. Above, the jazzy elevator music plays on without a care in the world as the floor numbers decreased.

You try to think of something to say, but keep coming back to the fact that you asked Captain America if he got accosted by rabid teenage fans. And really, how does one come back from that? They don’t, and you really have the urge to make a time machine now so you can go back and maybe try making a better first impression on Captain America.

The elevator door dinged open once again, cutting your thoughts off from spiraling further into the black hole of embarrassment, and Captain America waves you to step out first.

With a quiet thank you, you do just that and refer to your phone for your apartment number. The mini map that you’ve been sent is still fresh in your brain so you have a general idea of where your new home is located, but you weren’t going to risk ending up at the wrong number. You’ve made yourself look like an idiot in front of Captain America once already. No need to do it a second time.

Is it too much to ask for him to maybe forget about that whole fiasco? With your luck, probably.

“Aha!” you exclaim after checking and double checking the door number. Apartment room six-one-six. Home sweet home. You manage to smile up at Captain America. “This is me.”

“Oh,” Captain America says with a small bewildered smile before his eyes bounce up and down the hall and at the identical doors. “It’s, uhhh...nice?”

Will this awkward atmosphere the two of you have ever going to go away?

“The pictures definitely make the place look good,” you manage to say while pulling out the ID card you’ve been given at the front desk. There’s two. One for the labs, and one for the residential areas. You hold up the residential one to the card reader on the wall next to the door knob. A blue light runs down the card before flashing green with a mechanical beep. You take hold of the knob and turn back to Captain America. “Moment of truth.”

The apartment is just as amazing, if not better, than advertised.

“Woah.” You stare at the interior in awe, mouth hanging open as you openly gape at the pristine kitchen, the living room facing the beautiful view of New York City’s skyscrapers. Not as high up as the Avenger’s floor, obviously, but still impressive. There’s a short hall that leads to three rooms and you know it’s the master bedroom, the bathroom, and laundry room. For the first time since graduating college, you get to finally, finally, live on your own...and in the Avenger’s Tower, no less!

“It’s a good view,” Captain America says from behind you, and you almost jumped.

You completely forgot he was with you for a second there. “Yeah. Oh, uh, I can take that now.”

There’s another awkward pause as you try to figure out how to take the bowl from Captain America without utterly failing before you finally decide on hauling your bag into the apartment, using it to hold the door open as you set your purse on top of it, before taking the soup bowl from Captain America with both hands to ensure a steadier transaction.

“Thank you so much,” you say, “would you like to come in for something to drink? Or...” you trail off because it strikes you that you technically don’t know where everything is.

Thankfully, Captain America shakes his head with an apologetic twist of his lips. “Oh, no thank you, I’m good. But, uh...it was nice meeting you.”

You grimace. “Even though I totally embarrassed myself?”

He chuckles a bit awkwardly at that. “As far as first meetings go, it wasn’t terrible, and definitely not the worst. I’ve made some blunders myself so don’t feel too bad about it.”

You smile more naturally this time. “Well, if Captain America says so.”

“So,” he replies, clearly pleased with himself even as his own smile remains modest.


End file.
